Cooking device



Nov. 7, 1944.' G. A. slvLEY COOKING DEVICE Filed April 29, 1942 MMI* 4 Sheets-Sheet V1 -A INVENTORQ f G. H. '5W/ Erv- BY i f/G. Z

,N0v.1,1944. 6.45MB l'142,362,415

COOKING DEVICE Filed April 29. 1942` 4 sheets-sheet 2 IN V EN TOR.

-G. A. sNLEY 2,362,415

COOKING DEVICE 4 Filed April 29, 1942 4 sheets-sheet s d O., d almdu.. vlv 1. 0 m y wwwwmwwwmw 0 ww 7 in. w @a E 1M m 6 v. .7 G. B. 7 VW H W W 5 M L M w. 7 i Z6 2, W /d 3 5 5 Nov. 7., 1944.

` units, if desired; To provide simple means for opening and clos- Patented Nov. 7, 1944 COOKING DEVICE Garland A. Slvley, Peoria, Ill., assignor of threefourths to' Ernest Reich, Quakertown, Pa.

application April 29, 1942, serial No. 441,043

(ci. 12s-'41) 11 Claims.

The present invention relates to cooking apparatus of the general 4type of a broiler'oven and is, in general, an improvement upon the structure shownin an application about to be filed by Lowden `I. Sheldon.

Among the objects of the present invention are- To provide an apparatus of the nature indicatedhaving an intermediate cooking compartment with Ventilating compartments lat the ends thereof which have air inlets and outlets whereby air may be circulated through the Ventilating dicated, means for keeping down the temperature 'of counterbalancing springs;

To provide, in a structure of the' character indicated, bearings of a type which will reduce to a minimum the wear of supporting bearings;

To provide, in a structure of the character indicated, a minimum number of openings between the cooking compartment and other compartments in whichare located actuating springs;

To provide, in'a structure of the character lndicated, a food-supporting griddle which may be ing the oven door of a structure of the character indicated by the act of swinging the food-supporting plate out of o r into the oven;

`To provide for easy and separate removal-of parts whereby to render cleaning of the machine as simple as possible;

To provide. a structure of the character indicated which may be readily converted from the use of either gas or electricity as a heating medium to the other; Y 7

'Io provide an arrangement of counterbalancing springs for a griddle plate which will eliminate dead spots in the travel of the food-supporting griddle or plate; I

To provide for dividing the counterbalanclng tension of the springs into four parts, instead of two, whereby to reduce the wear on bearings and whereby tov assure continuous operation in event of breakage or failure of a single spring;

.. To provide for easy adjustment of the counterbalancing action; and

In thev drawings annexed hereto and'iorming a part hereof,

- embodying my present invention:

oscillated from a position inside of the cooking compartment to aposition outside thereof and vice versa. and, when so oscillated, the griddle will be substantially level when outside of the compartment and, when inside, will slopev toward the rear of the compartment; 1

To provide, in a structure of the character indicated, a supporting linkage in which the supporting links will not be their useful travel;

To provide, in a structure of the character indicated, adjustable. positive, stop mechanism for parallel at any point in predetermining the location of a food-supporting plate or'griddle with reference to the heating units: i .i

To provide, in a structure of the character indicated, an easily removable. heat-control damper and deector to facilitatethe removal of heatv radiants and heating units;V j

To provide easily removable end panels, making possible easy and quick inspection and repairof operating parts; i

To provide' for easy regulation of the temperature-of the cooking compartment by making posanother or all heating sible the use ,of-one or line 6 6, Fig. 1; yi

Fig. 1 is a frontelevational view Fig. 2 represents alongitudinal section-,substantially along the plane indicated by the line 2-2, Fig. 4;

Fig. e is an ena eievaiinai view of the right hand end of the structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 represents a transverse section substantially along thegplane indicated by the line 4-'.4, Fig. l, the section being taken just inside of the right hand end wall;

Fig. 5 represents 'a transverse section throfugh the apparatus between the right hand end and the middle thereof, the

food-supporting plate Vbeing shown in extended position; Fig. 6 represents a transverse section takenv substantially along the plane indicated `by the Fig. 7 is a view similar tol tric heating units:

Fig. 9 is a detail View of a part of the structure,l

shown-in Fig. 4;' and `Fig. 10 represents a cross-section illustrating the' latching means releasably connecting the cooking plate with its hangers.l

' Reference will now `be made in greater detail need cleaning, greasing, or v of a structure Fig. 6 showing'y a modified form of constructlon;-

2' to the'annexed drawings for a morecomplete description of this invention. Essentially. the

casing of this cooking apparatus is a sheet metal l which may enter the outlet openings 5,-whereby to support the panels 2.

Located primarily inthe Ventilating air chambers 8 and in the bottom part of the apparatus 'is asystem of pipes 9, venturis 'Ill and valves Il.

From this gas pipe system extends a pilot tube I2 terminating in the pilot nozzle I9 vadjacent certain gas openings I4 in the pipe I5 at the top of the cooking compartment. The pipes I9 extend from the valves II to the venturis I to convey gas thereto for mixing with air in the venturis whereby to secure a proper combustible mixture. Hence, lwhen the valve control handles II a are turned to on" position, the gas escaping through the openings I4 and the openings in the burner pipes will be ignited by the pilot flame. The gas pipe at the right side of the apparatus is designated by the numeral I5 while that at the left side is designated bythe numeral Ilia, the two pipes I5 and I5a being of different lengths. This is in order to provide for regulation of the temperatureof the heatingcompartmentor to adjust the heating according to the amount of meat or other products being cooked. The division between the pipes Il and I5a is shown in Fig.` 2 just above vthe burner nozzle I3. At the right of this division there are two burner pipes designated by the numeral Il while, at the left thereof, are three such lrmrner pipes, the

same -being designated by the numeral Ida.

Upon the pipes` I8 andv Ildvare supported mineral radiants I9 provided on their lower surfaces with tapered radiant points .20, these radiants being each provided with a number of transverse slots 2I extending throughout that portion of the radiants which is provided with the heat radiating points 20. Located in the chamber above these radiants is a holding means 22 which has at its ends anges 22 for holding lng plate or griddle 30. the lower edge of the plate 29 beingbent forwardly. as shown at II,

` to form adrip-ilangethev function of which is ing off from the back edge of the griddle, if the latter is moved too rapidly. At its ends, the bar 34 is secured to the griddle 30 and, at itsv intermediate portion, it is spaced upwardly therefrom in order to permitood juices vto escape l freely from the griddle to the pan or tray 32.

Also, articles of food which adhere to the griddle during cooking may be scraped therefrom and shoved under the bary 34 to fall 4into the drip pan, when the griddle is wholly or mostly drawn out into the position shown in Fig. 5.

Bosses or studs are f formed on the under sur- `face of the griddle 30, or are secured thereto.

These bosses are designated by the numerals 35 ,and 39 and each is notched in its lower part for the reception of the 'rods 21 and 39 by means of which the links/3 9 and are pivotally connected to the bosses and, therefore, tothe griddle itself. Latches 4Iv and 42' are, pivotally connected to the lower faces of the bosses and serve to hold the rods 31V and 38 in place therein. If it is desired to remove the griddle for cleaning purposes. it is pulled out into the position shown in Fig. 5

and the latches 4I and 42 are turned about their pivots to free the rods 21 and 39. The griddle cangthen be lifted away from these rpds and taken to wherever it is desired to have it for the-washing of same.v l

A handle is connected by the/arm 48 to -the front edge of the griddle, as is\shown clearlyin Figs. 5 and 6, and furnishes means whereby the griddle may be drawn out through the door# opening 25; At their upper endathel 29 andd are provided with studs which exten laterally through the cooking chamber lining 41. the heat insulationia, and the grey iron casting i. These studs or pivot members 49 and 49 (see Fig. 4)

the outside nanges of the outside radiante down upon the pipes I9 and I8a, provided, as shown in Figs. 2, 5, 6, and 7. with openings I9b for the escape of gas from the pipes I9 and Ia. Be-

which seem to beimportant in properly radiat- 1 ing heat to the foodsbeing cooked.

In the front wall of the cooker is a door` opening 25 in which a door 28 is pivoted by its upper edge 'to swing outwardlyfrom the position shownin Fig. 6 to that shown in Fig. 5 and conversely. Above the door-opening. the front 'wall .of -the cooker. is provided with heat vin'- pass through high temperature oilless type bearing bushings whichv reduce to a minimum. the amount of wear incident tothe use of the counterbalancing springs and'BI. On the outer ends of the studs 48 and 49 are rigidly secured crank arms 52 Aand 53 which serve to convertl the tension o f the springs into rotary motion of the studs 49 and 49, therebyl causing' oscillation of the links 99 and 4II from one tothe other of the posi- ,--tions shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

.The two ends of the springs B0 and 5I are secured tofastening means 54 and 55, the former of which are adjustable to vary the .tension of the springs 50 and 5I. Since the fastening means are secured t0 the crank arms l2 `and I2, the springs exert lforce thereon tending to rotate themas sa and u whereby to lift the griddle u,

inslde'cf the chamber. es shown 1n mg. e, or .outside thereofvms shown inA Fig. 5.

- While the distance between pivots 49 and shaft s1 lathe same ss that between me pivots and shaft 29,-the links 29 and 4l are notparallel sulation 21there also being heatinsulating Ymaterial in the back wall, asindicated at 29.`

On the inside ofthe back wall is. a plate 2i, secured in such a position that its upper-.edge

' is well above the back edge ofthe food-supportbecause 'the distance between pivots 49I and 42l is not the same as that between shafts 21 and 24. Since. shafts 31 and 39 are at the same height above the" bottom of the 'cooker .and 'since the distances between these'shafts 1and the griddle 4I are dlierenm the griddle slants and, as shown in the pivot 49 is enough higher thanthe pivot 48.

to compensate for the difference in distance between the shafts 31 and 38 and the plate 38, resulting in the plate 3|) being horizontal when brought out into the position shown in Fig. 5. From this it is obvious that at no 4time during the useful operation of the griddle and links are the latter parallel.

Attention is directed to the fact-that the springs K l5l) and 5I make an acute angle with eachother crank arms 52'and 53,' respectively, may turn when the griddle-is removed from the cooking and also to the fact that the lines connecting the centers .of the pivots-48 and 55a and 49 and 55h are. not parallel to each other and, therefore, the pull of the springs cannot pass any 'dead spots when both springs would be pulling in the direction of the lineof centers, as referred to above. As shown in Fig. 4, the -crank arm'52 wouldhave to rotate about 90 before the lie of centers A would be in alignment with spring 58, while the crank arm 53 will rotate between 30 and 35 before passing dead center. Hence, thecrank arm 53 would .be considerably'beyond dead center before crank arm 52 would reach that point, when going toward the position shown in Fig. 5. Hence, the pull of the springs is such that there is no tendency to pass a dead center and then suddenly move on to an end position. During the period after the crank arm 53 passes dead center and vbefore 52 reaches it,`the two springs50 and 5I will be pulling against each other. Hence, there will be better balanced action andthe griddle willnot move-so suddenly as to throw food oi therefrom by reason of sudden action.

An arm .58 is secured adjacent each of the lower corners of the door 26 and is so positioned asto bear against the edges of thelinks 39 s o that when downward pressure and avpull is exerted upon the handle 45 to remove the griddle 30 from thevbroiler oven, the links 39 will push on the ends of the Varms 56 and force the door to open,

as shown in Fig. 5. This door is slightly shorter in a horizontal direction thanv the door-opening 25 in which it swings so that the door will not be tight when heat causes expansion of the door and surrounding parts. Therefore, the'door is freel to close under the inuence of gravity when the griddle is pushed back into the cooker compartment. Hence it will be seen that, theopenins and ,closing'of the'door 28 is entirely. automatic and requires no attention on the part of the operator who merely pulls the griddle out of thel cooker compartment or shoves it back in'again.

In its upper edge, one of the crank arms 52 is provided vwith a series of notches 58 to be engaged by the nose 59 of pawl 80 pivoted on the.

casting 8. Adjusting means 8 I engages the upper end portion of the pawl '80 for stopping this pawl at various points in its rotation about its pivot and predetermining the stopping position of the nose 59 which engages in one or another of the notches 58. On the front 'of the casing is an indica'ting plate 82 over which moves anindicating compartment. Since rotation of the crank armsA is stopped by the abutments 85 and 88, oscillation of the links 39 and' 40 and, consequently, of the rods 31 and 38, must be4 positively stopped by these abutments. Therefore, it is obvious vthat the position of the griddle outside of the cooking compartment, is' always the same when stopped by the abutments.`

At its upper edge, the door `26 is provided with a4 baille 88 which-'as clearly shown vin Fig. 6. would tend to prevent escape of steam, smoke, and fumes between the door V26 and the upper part of the front wall of the casing.- The damper 10, having an upstanding flange around yits edges and. being provided with an operating handle 1l,

is slidable on the plate 22 to vary the direction of travel of the heat and fumes passing upwardly through the cooking chamber and out through the opening 12 below the top 13. Asis clear from Figs. V5 and 6, it is impossible entirely to shut off the opening at theback ofthe damper 10 for the reason that the spindle 14, constituting a part of ing 12. A baille 12a is removably secured to the back of the cooker vbelow the opening 12 andv die rects the gases upwardly rather than directly outwardly vagainst lthe adjacent wall where they might result in causingl a greasy condition toA develop.

The flange of the damper 10 has-a notch in its front edge and the spindle 14 has a groove adjacent its inner end into which the edges of the flange notch. t .to make areadily separable connection between the ange and spindle.

Therefore, by removing the top 13, m'oving the damperv 10 forwardly to the' front wall of the casing, and raising the back edge of the damperl the connection between the ange and the spin. dle may` be separated and the damper removed. This makes it possible'to easily get at the radiant holder and remove same so thatthe radiants and heating parts can be removed, if desired. One of the-hold-down members for'the radiants `is shown at 1'5 in Fig. 5, this being secured to the under side of the plate 22 and press ing resiliently against the top of the radiants. It'

i -is ofcourse understood that an electric heating i the left hand V'back corner of the plate, at the pointer 83, the latter cooperating withthe nu- A' Stops 85 and 88 limit the amount to which thesystem may -replace the shown in- Figs. 1 to 6. l

The top 13 is shownas a heavy cast metal frying...platelprovided 'around its periphery with a gas heating system.

groove18 for the collectionof fryings whichmayA chance to run toward the edge of the plate. In

intersection of the back and sid-e grooves, is a.

well 19 having an opening in theu bottom thereof .from which runs a pipe 18 leadingv to the lower part of the cooking chamber, as shown clearly'` in Fig. 2, where the fryings drip into the drip l pen 32. when it is desired tease the platen for frying, it is best to adjust the damper 10 as far rearwardly as possible to force as much 0f the heat as possiblearound the front edge of the damper and in contact with the frying plate 13. However; if it is desired to temporarily discon-V tinue-fthe use of the frying plate, using onlyffthe broiler, theri the damper may be adjusted to the front of the 'top chamber "and the gases will' I then largely pass rearwardly under the damper and out of the opening 12.

yWhen an end panel is removed by removing the securingmeans 3, swinging the lower edge of the panel outwardly and then lifting it slightly, the interior of the Ventilating chamber is exposed and it is possible to get at the structures therein for cleaning or adjustment. A

The end walls 41 have a minimum number of openings so as to reduce as much as possible the chance for heat to pass directly from the cooking chamber through openings into the ventilating chambers at the two ends of the machine. Both end plates 41 have openings for the passage of the shafts 48 and 48, and the left panel 41 has an opening for the passage of the pipe 18. Be-

cause of the substantially uninterrupted surface of the plates 41 and the back plate, the interior of the cooker is easily cleaned. The back edge of the' frying plate 13 is provided with an abutment 80 to assist in picking up articles of food from the plate and to prevent scrapings on the plate from being pushed over the back thereof. -If it is not desired to use the cast metal plate 13 as a cooking top, this mayebe replaced by a,.-

sheet metal plate having a downwardly extending flange on three sides to keep it properly positioned with relation to the casing ofv which it forms a part. In such an arrangement, insulating material 8| is placed on the damper 10 and a shorter spindle 14 replaces that shown in Figs.

`5 and 6 so that the damper body will be held substantially against the forward wall of the chamber 11. Hence, the location of the damper- 10 and the presence of the heat insulating material 8| will tend to keep the sheet metal top 82 from becoming excessively hot. For this construction, reference is made to Fig. 7.

INI

In order to convert this into an electrically heated cooking device, the radiante, gas burners, pipes, and valves are removed and a brightly polished reflecting plate `22a having electric heating f units 83 mounted on the under side thereof takes the place of these and furnishes2 adjustable heat by reason of the fact that the electric heating umts are divided into two parts, as in the case of by means of the switches 84 and 85 for low, me-

cated in the end compartments and arranged at an acute angle to each other, said springs being attached to the crank arms with their axesv y making unequal anglesto the length of the crank arms and holding the griddle in raised position as determined by said pawl and ratchet, either inside or outside of the casing, and lmeans for predetermining which one of the notches in the ratchet will serve to determine the location of the griddle with relation tothe heating unit when cooking.

2. A structure as defined by claim 1 having on an outside wall of the apparatus indicating means for indicating which of several positions with relation to the heating unit the griddle will occupy when the pawl engages a notch of the ratchet. A 3. A structure as defined by claim l having adjusting means for adjusting the tension of the springs.

4. A structure as defined by claim l in which the springs are arranged tov pass across the axes of rotation of the pivot membersand do not pass said axes at the same time. Y

5. In a cooking apparatus, a casing having end walls of grey iron castings and having in its end walls, front and rear, openingsfor the reception of pivot members, said openings being arranged in pairs, correspondingopenings at the two ends being at approximately the same height from the bottom but the rear openings'being higher than the front openings, hangers having upper and lower pivot members and having their upper pivot membersextending through the end wall openings and the lower pivot members serving as supports, for a griddle,y and a griddle having pivotal connection with the lower pivot members, the upper pivot members at the same side of the casing being farther apart than the-corresponding lower pivot members, the griddle being swingable from a, position within the casing to a position outside of the casing and vice versa, when outside the casing being substantially horizontal and when within the casing being inclined rearwardly,

the gas heating units, and each part is divided and the hangers, during the swinging of the griddle, at no time during their usable travel, being parallel.

e. In a cooking apparatus or the type indicated,

. a casing having a central cooking chamber and dium,and high temperatures. For this construction, reference is made to Fis. 8.

Itwill of course be understood that the specific de'scription'of structure set forth above may be departed from without ,departing from'the spirit `of this invention as set i'orth in this specication and the appended claims.

Having now described my invention. I claim: 1. In a cooking apparatus of the nature described, a casing having a cooking chamber in its 'having pivot members extendingv through the end wallsl ofthe cooking chamber, said pivot members having crank'ar'ms mounted upon the ends thereof within the end chambers, one of saidcrank arms having notches formed in the edge thereof to serve as a ratchet, a pawl pivotally mounted on an end wallof said cooking chamber `and adapted to cooperate with said ratchet whereby .to limit the amount of oscillation of the ratchet and therefore of the pivot member con-V ventilating chambers at the two ends thereof, the end walls of the casing having'inlet openings at the bottom, outlet openings adjacent the top.

and larger openings in the central part thereof,

closure means for said larger openings, said closure means having inwardly turned flanges at the top and bottom thereof to engage in said inlet and outlet openings, and manipulable securing means for preventing removal of said closure means. f '7. In a cooking apparatus of the character described having an intermediate cooking comparti ment; a food. supporting plate inthe compartment, supporting-rods` for said plate extending transversely through said compartment, notched lugs extending downwardly from said plate and receiving said rods within the notches, and pivp oted latching means on the lower ends of said lugs to be turned laterally about their pivots whereby to enable easy removal of the supporting plate from the supporting rods.

8. `In a cooking device having a central cooking compartment and a, Ventilating compartment at one end thereof; the combination of a foodsupporting'ftray in said cooking compartment. pivoted means for supporting said tray either inside or outside of said compartment, crank arms in the Ventilating compartment connected to said pivoted means to cause oscillation thereof to hold the tray in elevated position, and spring-means in the Ventilating -compartment attached to said crank arms -to cause them to oscillate, said arms ing griddle therein supported at its two ends by pairs of pivoted links of substantially equal length, said links having upper and lower pivots,

` the upper pivots being connected to the chamber and springs being respectively arranged at an v angle to each other to insure that the arms, in their oscillation, will not simultaneously pass dead center.

9. A structure as defined byclaim 8 having I means for adjusting the tension of said springs.

10. A structure as defined by claim 8 in which.

the cookingcompartment has end wallsand in which therel are stop members on the outside of each end wall of the cooking compartment, 1o'- cated in the paths of the lever arms to-denitely limit the amount of 'rotation of said pivotrnembers to thereby limit the amount of travel of the food-supporting member.

11. A cooking chamber having a food-supporta rear pivotal axis,:and the pivotal axis at the walls for pivotal motion therein, the upper pivots at the rear being higher up in the chamber walls than those farther forward and the upper pivots on each side being farther apart than the lower pivots on the same side, corresponding pivots at opposite sides of thechamber being co-axial, the

rear lower pivots being connectedto the griddle i adjacent its rear edge and together constituting rear edge of the griddle being oscillatable into and out of the chamber, and the positioning of the 'pivots being such that the rear edge of the griddle when within the chamber is lower ythan the front edge and, when the griddle is outside of the chamber, it isv substantially horizontal.

GARLAD A. 'srvum 

